Tim Horton fishes to win. To do that, he tries to target big bites. But perhaps more important, he always tries to target big concentrations of fish. And as he searches, he's content to not catch any until he finds the right group. In fact, it's not uncommon for him to go fishless for the first few days of practice. However, the spot he eventually discovers might be the one that brings him the victory.

Since his rookie season, when he won BASS Angler of the Year, concentrations of fish have played a central role in his success. That success includes five consecutive Bassmaster Classic appearances and three BASS wins.
His strategies usually surround open-water structure because he feels shoreline fish, which are heavily pressured, rarely stack up. "If you are going to find a big gang of willing fish, you really have to do it offshore," he said.

He begins by looking for water that's at least somewhat clear. He believes the only condition that can prevent fish from piling up on offshore structure is badly stained water. "Bass like to know where they are, and they won't relate well to offshore cover if the water is really dirty," he said.

Begin With Bait

Given decent water color, Horton begins his search by idling over a variety of depths on the lookout for schools of baitfish on his Lowrance LCX-15 graph. "The depths that hold the most baitfish generally dictate the depth where you'll find big concentrations of bass," he said. "Once I identify that depth, I begins looking for structure within it."

If most baitfish are in 10 to 15 feet of water, for example, he looks for humps, channel edges, ends of points and other structural elements in that 10- to 15-foot zone.

A Closer Look

After Horton locates a likely bit of structure, he then turns to his front graph, also an LCX-15, to carefully study the individual piece of structure. He looks primarily for cover and groups of baitfish, rather than marks that indicate the presence of bass.

"I don't have to graph bass on the structure before I start fishing," he said. "More often than not, when I find a really good concentration of fish, it's not because I saw them before I caught them."

If Horton sees something he likes, he'll work the area thoroughly but quickly, usually with a crankbait like a Bomber Fat Free Shad. Concentrated bass feed opportunistically, so he wants a bait that he can get into the strike zone quickly. But he also wants a bait that can cover water.

"If the water's shallow or I'm working over aquatic vegetation, I might use a lipless crankbait like a Cordell Spot instead," he said.

If a location doesn't produce any strikes, he won't stick around too long. Instead, he moves to another piece of structure that offers cover at the same depth, then repeats the process. He'll search as many different types of structure as he can find, including spots on the main lake, in the mouths of creeks and farther up creeks.

Depth Confidence

Even if his first efforts aren't successful, Horton generally won't abandon the depth. "If I see baitfish using a different depth, yes I will change," he said. "But if I know the baitfish are there, I'm confident the bass will be stacked up on structure somewhere in the lake at that depth. So I'll continue to search."

He covers a lot of territory and pays attention to everything. Every strike he feels, and everything he sees on his graph tells him a little more about where the fish might be concentrated. Even the way the fish bite can be telling.

"If all the fish are hooked deep, they're usually competing for food and more bass are down there with them," he said. "Likewise, when one hits the bait and really takes off running, more often than not, it's running from other fish. To find concentrations of fish that can last through a four-day tournament, you have to pay attention to these little details."